Just curious on a device that uses wifi and not gps in google maps and not radio towers such as the nook, how does the system know where you are located in the world? any links would be helpful
You need to use API if
Android location API convert network address to location.
In Android, there two types of location providers. One is GPS and Another is Network. Using network GPS, you can know your location. But that is not accurate.
Wifi tracking is possible with EVIL geoip location. One's ISP wickedly issues client an ip address from a TINY netblock. Netblocks are broken across tiny geographic areas removing the previously experienced anonymity of interacting with the internets. Now your geoip location can pin you to an area of one square mile, one city block, or smaller... whereas before verizon internets users were are "located" in reston, va as that was the registration information for their netblocks.
Do you really want people who do not share you ideology on x y or z knowing where you live (work, or hangout) from your interweb posting? or your email? or your chatting on some networks? or your SIP calls? or your media center stream downloads? If you do not care you likely have not given enough though to the LONG range consequences of this vile privacy breach.
Call up your ISP and try to be removed from this evil scheme. When enough people demand their privacy back the ISP will find a way to do it (bother to change DHCP settings) or "monetize it" then do it (in a few clicks).
Are you willing to spend $1 to have your internets privacy restored?
I am.
Related
I registered with FON...
http://www.fon.com
...about six months ago, then just before Christmas they offered me their wireless kit with high gain aerial for six quid inc p&p.
The way it works is if you share your wireless network (the router lets you set the bandwidth you wish to share, so almost none if you want) and in return it lets you use everyone elses FON connections, and you can check a map to see where the closest open on is, with it even showing you the route to get there. The router provides two separate wifi sources - one for your own use - and one for public use (if someone who does not share their wifi in the FON service - they can still use the service - but need to pay - with part of the payment going to the person sharing their router. A few routers can also do this already - and there is a link on the site telling those that will work with the service. You can name your hotspot from their site and change passwords etc too.
http://maps.fon.com/?lang=en
You need to keep zooming in until you see orange circles.
It was originally set up in Spain - so the coverage there is massive - so pretty good for on holiday, although last year FON teamed up with BT in the UK, so the hotspots on my local map have more than doubled in that time. But there is coverage in most countries, including ones where they do not offer to send to (such as Russia - but the map shows availability in Moscow and SPB).
So legal war-driving with a map provided, and a good chance of free VOIP and internet when on holiday.
I'm surprised that this is popular; seeing as you're responsible for what is downloaded on your connection. It'd be just lovely if you did this and some pervert downloaded kiddie porn with your connection.
A nice surprise that would be, when the cops come beating down your door at 5am...
In the US they just passed a bill that makes sharing your connection a VERY risky thing to do. You would have to be crazy to own a wireless router in the USA atm and even more nutz to share it. If someone uses your connection to commit a crime you can be held liable. RP and Dennis are the only 2 people who fought this. While they are out on the trail it got voted in.
OK - show me one conviction where this happened and someone was convicted for what a third party downloading criminal content.
If I go to the city centre, even in the evening there are masses of open wifi signals - and in addition to that a few people have had file sharing cases against them dropped as those making the accusations were unable to show if it had come through an open signal.
Also - if you are responsible for what is downloaded upon your connection - show me one university, internet cafe, or employer who has been accused of an offence for what was downloaded on their premises.
Being a member of FON means you can hire out your connection for both payment and/or free access yourself, so you are in the same position as those mentioned in the list in the above paragraph.
http://www.snohomishcountybusinessjournal.com/archive/jul07/techtalk-jul07.htm
the general issue is not they are convicted for other people doing it the problem
is that they can get convicted as the offender themselfs
The router splits traffic into two parts - your own and your external - ie others.
For someone else to use your router for access - they have already registered and had a router sent to them - or they have registered then paid with paypal to access your router (with a pass).
There is also the option of changing the firmware on your original router and then registering - which would show your IP as you went through to process of registering.
OK - I gave a bad example by saying it was wardriving with a map provided - but its keeping records - and on my home page I can see the IDs of those who accessed my site (who are both family members I set it up for prior to their going on holiday).
So you will still have to do anything dodgy from a normal open router or net cafe - as there is still a password you need to buy - or be sharing yourself to get access - so users are traceable - and your homepage shows you the ID of who accessed the service.
why would you even share your bandwidth, i would not even share it if i was being paid, can be used by pirates and then you get the law knocking on your door blaming you.
And i think they are going to pass a law that bans pirating(any illegal thing) in the university
"Its mine - all mine - mine you hear - just mine - and no one elses"
Seems like some have reason to be paranoid about this, depending in wich country you live...
As long as it is not forbidden to have an open accespoint in the Netherlands, i like the idea of FON.
I just bought a Samsung Galaxy Player with the intentions of using it as a wifi phone as a replacement for my cell phone.
The main reason for this is I don't like all the tracking going on with cell phones. Cell phone tower tracking, Carrier IQ tracking, etc., etc. I'm not doing anything illegal and I'm not a conspiracy nut, it's just the principle of it. I'm an American - I'm suppose to have freedoms and be able to have my privacy if I so choose.
I had planned on using either Skype with an online phone number or Google Voice to get voice on my Player. The problem with this is Google is going to track every wifi hotspot I log in from so I'm kind of back at square one - EVERYONE wants to spy on you these days. Not to mention all the criminals trying to get personal info at public hot spots.
So I thought about a VPN. That would stop Google/Skype from tracking the wifi hotspot I log in from. But, how does one find a VPN service that you know without a doubt is trustworthy??? I've even thought about getting my own VPS and installing OpenVPN myself (found a good service for that if anyone is interested). But from a true anonymity standpoint it would be better to use a VPN service who has many other customers all using a shared IP. Plus I'll use the same VPN service for my desktop and it would be nice to log into some websites from another countries sometimes.
I've also looked into setting up my own Asterisk server but haven't had time to get too in-depth with that yet.
Any thoughts or ideas would be greatly appreciated.
That's a bit much. I think skype is safe, though.
Sent from my SGH-T959 using Tapatalk
.
Thread moved to Q&A due to it being a question. Would advise you to read forum rules and post in correct section.
Greetings all and Happy Holidays.
Per some fellow XDA users request and also to compliment the great thread "[TUTO] How To Secure Your Phone," by: unclefab, I figured this would help...a thread on VPN.
I am also shocked to not see anything in the security forum about VPN! I did a search and NOTHING.
What is a VPN?
(Virtual Private Network)
A simple search on the web will give you the nitty gritty stuff on what a VPN is, but I'll just lay it out very simply.
A VPN takes your data connection and encrypts it so it protects your data from not only your ISP seeing your traffic, but also from middle man attacks. Say if you were at a cafe connected to their open (unsecured) public WiFi and you did some shopping online, which involved you entering in your credit card number, name, address, etc... Well, it doesn't take much for someone to intercept your sensitive data passing through the cafe's unsecured WiFi connection.
How it works:
Encrypts your Computer's/Phone's data ---> Connects it to your VPN's server (Exit Server) ---> Then it reaches the end destination (website). (Safe Passage)
ie...
Safely passes your Internet Data, through a ---> [TUNNEL] ---> ...that is encrypted so that all your data is not only anonymous, but also protected.
There are may VPN's service providers out there, however, they are not all created equal. I've spent a lot of time researching VPN's and have went to great lengths to find the best of the best. The criteria of what I was looking for is as follows:
Offshore Company. Something outside of the US.
Liked and approved by even the extreme private/security activists.
Reliability and Speed! Some VPN's can be very slow only allowing you to achieve 30-50% of your internet speed at best.
A wide choice of servers.
Able to pay anonymously.
A VPN THAT WORKS ON OUR ANDROID DEVICES!
Some VPN companies have their own Android VPN client, which makes things a breeze. Just launch, connect and violla....all your traffic is now safely tunneled.
For the companies that do not have their own Android VPN client, you'll have to use the app: OpenVPN, which can be a hit or a miss for those on KK 4.4. Let me explain...
When I was on my Note 3 on 4.3, OpenVPN worked flawlessly and my speeds were darn near 100% of my regular LTE speeds even connected to a VPN! Well, once KK 4.4 came around, it completely ruined everything in terms of being able to stay connected. KK 4.4 is and was a nightmare for OpenVPN users. Upgrading from 4.3 to 4.4 was the biggest mistake I have ever made in my Android world. Bottom line, KK 4.4 sucks.
The good news is, there are a few VPN companies that work flawlessly on KK 4.4. I'm using one at the moment and it stays connected just fine with awesome speeds!
Why you should use a VPN:
Well think about. You can go the whole nine yards in securing your phone, which is awesome, but then you'd still be tunneling all that traffic "unencrypted," over the internet .... this is counter-intuitive in every way that you look at it. It's like ordering a BIG MAC Extra value meal and getting a diet coke. I mean really? What's the point? Diet? No matter how you see it, you're going to get fat if you keep eating it and thinking a diet coke is going to take edge off of you getting fat. Sorry, it doesn't work that way....
Imagine a semi-trucks driving down the highway with some completely exposed and some locked and covered. Well you'll obviously be able to see the exposed cargo on all the trucks that are not contained yes? Whereas the ones that are covered and locked, you'd have no clue what's in there. This is how a VPN works....it covers your data/traffic so that no one can see or know what is inside of that container during transit...ie...it provides a safe passage of your data over the internet to the end destination.
Now a VPN will protect your data from point A to the end destination (website.) That website will only be able to see your "exit server," and not your ISP or your location, but of course your data.
Ex: You're in New York connected to the internet using a VPN ----> The VPN server you're connected to is in Texas ---> The website you're visiting is located and hosted in Canada.
In that example, your "encrypted" data/traffic is being routed through Texas and then to Canada where the website is hosted/located. Make sense?
Because you're connecting to a VPN server, this is why you have to know which ones to use so that you can trust your data routing through their servers. Not all VPN companies are created equal!
If you're interested to know which VPN's are best in general and for our Android devices, PM me and I'll share with you my research. I don't want to advertise anything on here to be in compliance with the forum rules.
I hope this helps!
To be continued....
You forgot to tell the data is not encrypted by the VPN between it's server and the website's server, you are only moving a problem from place A to place B. It may be better for you if this is what you are looking for but it doesn't add that much security.
How a VPN works : Your device data is encrypted FIRST, it leaves your device and goes to the VPN's server, it is DECRYPTED, and then it is relayed to the server you were trying to contact. Your data is less traceable but you're not anonymous, the VPN provider knows who you are and your DNS provider may still know what you are looking at if you the device leak DNS requests.
Your guide is missing details, anonymity and security is not easy and trying to simplify it too much you lost important parts users should not forget.
Regards
Magissia said:
You forgot to tell the data is not encrypted by the VPN between it's server and the website's server, you are only moving a problem from place A to place B. It may be better for you if this is what you are looking for but it doesn't add that much security.
How a VPN works : Your device data is encrypted FIRST, it leaves your device and goes to the VPN's server, it is DECRYPTED, and then it is relayed to the server you were trying to contact. Your data is less traceable but you're not anonymous, the VPN provider knows who you are and your DNS provider may still know what you are looking at if you the device leak DNS requests.
Your guide is missing details, anonymity and security is not easy and trying to simplify it too much you lost important parts users should not forget.
Regards
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Misleading? I think you need to re-read the post. Here let me help you:
"A VPN takes your data connection and encrypts it so it protects your data from not only your ISP seeing your traffic, but also from middle man attacks. Say if you were at a cafe connected to their open (unsecured) public WiFi and you did some shopping online, which involved you entering in your credit card number, name, address, etc... Well, it doesn't take much for someone to intercept your sensitive data passing through the cafe's unsecured WiFi connection."
"Now a VPN will protect your data from point A to the end destination (website.) That website will only be able to see your "exit server," and not your ISP or your location, but of course your data."
"Ex: You're in New York connected to the internet using a VPN ----> The VPN server you're connected to is in Texas ---> The website you're visiting is located and hosted in Canada."
So you're going to argue the fact that a VPN wouldn't be affective in a cafe scenario like the example I've given in the post?
Any additional information is appreciated, but please don't come in here saying that it's misleading....
THE FACT IS...YOU'RE BETTER OFF WITH A VPN, than WITHOUT ONE. PERIOD.
It's about trust, the VPN server can do the middle man attack itself or one could do it somewhere between the VPN's server and the final destination.
Of course you're better with a VPN most of the time, but it's important to clearly state it's not captain america's shield neither. It's important to clearly tell at all cost that the data is encrypted only between you and the VPN's server.
Best regards.
The only way to ensure you are safe from MITM is to use end to end encryption, like SSL/TLS (https). Even if the MITM is using sslstrip, you'll be able to tell by the security popup in your browser when it asks you to trust the connection (which you shouldn't...)
VPN is useful for protecting you from someone sniffing the airwaves on an open network or for accessing services behind a firewalled network. (Like SMB/Windows File Sharing).
Like Magissa said, it isn't captain America's shield, and don't be fooled by a false sense of security. You have to trust the VPN provider, and it would be pretty easy for one to sniff your traffic or read logs...
iunlock said:
Greetings all and Happy Holidays.
Per some fellow XDA users request and also to compliment the great thread "[TUTO] How To Secure Your Phone," by: unclefab, I figured this would help...a thread on VPN.
I am also shocked to not see anything in the security forum about VPN! I did a search and NOTHING.
What is a VPN?
(Virtual Private Network)
A simple search on the web will give you the nitty gritty stuff on what a VPN is, but I'll just lay it out very simply.
A VPN takes your data connection and encrypts it so it protects your data from not only your ISP seeing your traffic, but also from middle man attacks. Say if you were at a cafe connected to their open (unsecured) public WiFi and you did some shopping online, which involved you entering in your credit card number, name, address, etc... Well, it doesn't take much for someone to intercept your sensitive data passing through the cafe's unsecured WiFi connection.
How it works:
Encrypts your Computer's/Phone's data ---> Connects it to your VPN's server (Exit Server) ---> Then it reaches the end destination (website). (Safe Passage)
ie...
Safely passes your Internet Data, through a ---> [TUNNEL] ---> ...that is encrypted so that all your data is not only anonymous, but also protected.
There are may VPN's service providers out there, however, they are not all created equal. I've spent a lot of time researching VPN's and have went to great lengths to find the best of the best. The criteria of what I was looking for is as follows:
Offshore Company. Something outside of the US.
Liked and approved by even the extreme private/security activists.
Reliability and Speed! Some VPN's can be very slow only allowing you to achieve 30-50% of your internet speed at best.
A wide choice of servers.
Able to pay anonymously.
A VPN THAT WORKS ON OUR ANDROID DEVICES!
Some VPN companies have their own Android VPN client, which makes things a breeze. Just launch, connect and violla....all your traffic is now safely tunneled.
For the companies that do not have their own Android VPN client, you'll have to use the app: OpenVPN, which can be a hit or a miss for those on KK 4.4. Let me explain...
When I was on my Note 3 on 4.3, OpenVPN worked flawlessly and my speeds were darn near 100% of my regular LTE speeds even connected to a VPN! Well, once KK 4.4 came around, it completely ruined everything in terms of being able to stay connected. KK 4.4 is and was a nightmare for OpenVPN users. Upgrading from 4.3 to 4.4 was the biggest mistake I have ever made in my Android world. Bottom line, KK 4.4 sucks.
The good news is, there are a few VPN companies that work flawlessly on KK 4.4. I'm using one at the moment and it stays connected just fine with awesome speeds!
Why you should use a VPN:
Well think about. You can go the whole nine yards in securing your phone, which is awesome, but then you'd still be tunneling all that traffic "unencrypted," over the internet .... this is counter-intuitive in every way that you look at it. It's like ordering a BIG MAC Extra value meal and getting a diet coke. I mean really? What's the point? Diet? No matter how you see it, you're going to get fat if you keep eating it and thinking a diet coke is going to take edge off of you getting fat. Sorry, it doesn't work that way....
Imagine a semi-trucks driving down the highway with some completely exposed and some locked and covered. Well you'll obviously be able to see the exposed cargo on all the trucks that are not contained yes? Whereas the ones that are covered and locked, you'd have no clue what's in there. This is how a VPN works....it covers your data/traffic so that no one can see or know what is inside of that container during transit...ie...it provides a safe passage of your data over the internet to the end destination.
Now a VPN will protect your data from point A to the end destination (website.) That website will only be able to see your "exit server," and not your ISP or your location, but of course your data.
Ex: You're in New York connected to the internet using a VPN ----> The VPN server you're connected to is in Texas ---> The website you're visiting is located and hosted in Canada.
In that example, your "encrypted" data/traffic is being routed through Texas and then to Canada where the website is hosted/located. Make sense?
Because you're connecting to a VPN server, this is why you have to know which ones to use so that you can trust your data routing through their servers. Not all VPN companies are created equal!
If you're interested to know which VPN's are best in general and for our Android devices, PM me and I'll share with you my research. I don't want to advertise anything on here to be in compliance with the forum rules.
I hope this helps!
To be continued....
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
which is the best VPN to use?
I've installed OpenVPN for Android and it works fine.
[VPN (Virtual Private Network) and why you should use it if you're serious ab...
TheMoroccan said:
which is the best VPN to use?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
There's no concrete answer to that question. Your best bet is to use a VPN provider that's based outside of your country, preferably one that is less likely to corporate with your local law enforcement.
Agreed. Out of country, away from your government's reach... There are some offshore server farms in countries with lax laws... Those are usually tax havens also. Research
snapper.fishes said:
There's no concrete answer to that question. Your best bet is to use a VPN provider that's based outside of your country, preferably one with a less likely to corporate with your local law enforcement.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks bro for the info.
I have always known that companies like google and facebook for example collect our data, web searches etc and sell this information for profit. Today, this has become an even bigger issue with what we see in the media with the nsa and other government organizations tapping into our devices and monitoring our usage. At the end of the day, most of us, myself included really dont have anything to hide, so it may not be a real issue. I have often thought that if anyone poked around in my pc or phone they would simply get bored as they are just full of geeky engineering files lol. The real thing for me is simply that it's an invasion of privacy and just not right. With that said, I find myself wanting to go the extra mile to make my pc and my phone completely private from outside sources taking my information, watching my web searches and seeing my data. My question is, is it possible to be 100% secure and private, and if not, how close can we get, and how? I have heard that VPN's can achieve this. Is this true? and if so are there any free secure VPN's for our android devices and or pc's that are really good? Do VPN's slow down our devices? Also, Is there a way when we delete android files to permanently delete them? I noticed when I flashed my rom, after doing the complete wipe that is still contains files from before the wipe.
(I know this isn't a pc forum, I only included the pc because it's relevant.)
Thank you all in advance.
There are no data retention laws in the United States. Meaning, if a data center does not want to hold any logs to their users' activity, they're not required by law to do so. Multiple countries are similar, which is why I recommend using Private Internet Access for your VPN. They have a client for PC and Android and they're really great. I've been using them for many years and have had no issues. And, if you're really wanting to remain "anonymous", you can pay for your VPN subscription using gift cards from popular outlets like Walmart, Starbucks, etc. And for search engines, I'd recommend DuckDuckGo, which doesn't log anything you search. For PC, I'd recommend disabling your IPv6 protocol in your router settings and getting uBlock Origin, HTTPS Everywhere, and PrivacyBadger. They're wonderful add-ons for Firefox or Chrome. uBlock Origin and PrivacyBadger can block WebRTC leaks which would leak your IP address and can be used to identify you. If you want more information, feel free to reply to my post and I'll help you out as much as I can.
Hoxic said:
There are no data retention laws in the United States. Meaning, if a data center does not want to hold any logs to their users' activity, they're not required by law to do so. Multiple countries are similar, which is why I recommend using Private Internet Access for your VPN. They have a client for PC and Android and they're really great. I've been using them for many years and have had no issues. And, if you're really wanting to remain "anonymous", you can pay for your VPN subscription using gift cards from popular outlets like Walmart, Starbucks, etc. And for search engines, I'd recommend DuckDuckGo, which doesn't log anything you search. For PC, I'd recommend disabling your IPv6 protocol in your router settings and getting uBlock Origin, HTTPS Everywhere, and PrivacyBadger. They're wonderful add-ons for Firefox or Chrome. uBlock Origin and PrivacyBadger can block WebRTC leaks which would leak your IP address and can be used to identify you. If you want more information, feel free to reply to my post and I'll help you out as much as I can.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hoxic,
Thank you for all of the information. With the private internet access VPN on my PC and android, will that slow down anything like web surfing, uploads or downloads? I am limited to using Verizon's high speed DSL connection as they refer to it, (I refer to it as slowest speed connection lol) in my neighborhood and this is the only provider for me so it's already pretty slow compared to Fios and other broadband connections. I would hate to slow it down any more.
You mention to pay for these services using gift cards and such. Well as I mentioned, I do not have anything that I am actually worried about anyone seeing, this is simply my way of trying to protect my privacy so I wouldn't go that far but I am curious about that statement. Do you mean that using a VPN truly isn't private or is this just to remove any paper trail linking me to the use of a VPN provider? I have been using DuckDuckGo for several years already just to stop google from taking and selling my info. Weather it truly works or not I dont know but its a great search engine anyway so I figured why not use it.
Your advice to disabling IPv6 protocol in my router settings: I do not see anywhere in my router settings to do this so I googled it, and it looks like there's a way o do this in windows. Is that different that what you're advising? Also I read a windows blog on this and windows 10 says IPv6 is a mandatory part of Windows that they do not advise on disabling. Can you give me some more detail on this, and how to disable it, assuming the windows warning is bull.
Thanks for all of your help.
Hey all!
Getting back into rooted devices, i've found that PryFi still works on the OnePlus 8 Pro for spoofing Wi-Fi addresses during scanning as databases are built to track others movements.
I'm curious if anyone has thought about continuing Chainfire's work. I'm not sure how hard it would be to edit Chainfire's application to randomize Bluetooth addresses instead of Wi-fi. Any programmers in?
Example: Phone A has Govt mandated app installed that tracks movements using Bluetooth, Govt has database of all phone numbers and attached mac addresses and uses that to track trends or invade peoples privacy rights.
Phone B Walks in a store: Unknowingly recorded, Receives a letter or a phone call days later that they must adhere to mandated policies.
There are Bluetooth mac changing apps on the play store... I haven't however seen anything as automated as PryFi.